My light and fluffy, completely from scratch Funfetti cake recipe has over 600 five-star reviews and has even been featured on TV! ⭐️ It’s a soft white cake speckled with sprinkles and iced with buttercream frosting, perfect for beginners and advanced bakers alike. Makes the perfect homemade birthday cake! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Homemade Funfetti Cake Recipe
My fluffy Funfetti cake (also known as confetti cake) has been one of my most popular recipes for years (right up there with my “worst” chocolate chip cookies). Flecked with sprinkles, a plush, super soft texture, and a buttery, caramelized vanilla flavor–what’s not to love?
Developing this cake took me weeks and is still one of my proudest accomplishments (right there with my French macaron recipe). When I finally nailed it, I found that there were a few key ingredients that really made a difference, namely, whipped egg whites.
For maximum, fluffy softness (and snow-white color), this recipe calls for plenty of egg whites (and no egg yolks–save those for your tiramisu!). You’ll whip these separately with an electric mixer until they reach stiff peaks and then fold them (gently!) into the cake batter. This is easy and quick to do, and it’s critical for a light and fluffy white cake (don’t get me started on yellow Funfetti cakes–there should be no such thing!).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect taste, perfect texture. Largely thanks to the afore-mentioned whipped egg whites and a combo of butter and oil in the cake batter. Oil adds moisture, while butter adds flavor, so by mixing the two you achieve perfect balance. This is how I’ve designed so many of my cake recipes, and once you try it you’ll see why.
- Bright white color. This serves as the perfect backdrop to colorful sprinkles. This Funfetti cake gets its pristine color from using egg whites only, clear vanilla (instead of regular vanilla), and a neutral oil.
- So soft and fluffy. This gorgeous texture comes from a critical ingredient: whipped egg whites. I’ve repeated this technique in several recipes since, including my lemon cake, strawberry cake, and Oreo cake. All have a plush, light-as-air texture!
- Frosted with an easy peasy classic buttercream, though you could technically use any frosting you like. Fruity pebbles frosting, strawberry frosting, and cream cheese frosting are all nice alternatives!
What You Need
For the Cake Layers
- Flour. Back when I was first developing this recipe, cake flour was difficult for me to find and when I could, it was pricey. I developed this recipe specifically with the intention of achieving a light fluffy texture with regular ol’ all-purpose flour (and it worked *perfectly* if I do say so).
- Egg whites. It’s important that you separate your own eggs (do not use eggs from a carton) and make sure not to get even a drop of yolk in the whites. Room temperature eggs work best, so try to remember to set yours out ahead of time if you can. If you forget, use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature (just make sure to thoroughly dry the eggs before cracking them).
- Milk. Whole milk is my preference, but I suspect a milk substitute (like almond milk) would work just fine. Whatever you use, ideally let it come to room temperature before adding it.
- Butter & oil. As mentioned above and used in my white cake and vanilla cake, a blend of the two balances flavor and texture of this Funfetti cake perfectly. For the oil, opt for a neutral cooking oil like canola, vegetable, or avocado oil (I like avocado oil, but it’s a bit more yellow and so colors the cake slightly). Using a particularly yellow butter or oil can affect the color of your cake.
- Baking powder. Not baking soda! It will seem like a lot, but it’s not (we’re making a big cake!). There is no baking soda in my Funfetti cake recipe, and that’s intentional. While this isn’t the main reason I don’t use baking soda, baking soda encourages browning and adding it would actually make the cake more golden inside.
- Vanilla. To maintain that pristine white color, I use clear vanilla in the cake layers. If you would rather opt for natural vanilla flavoring it will work perfectly well, just know your cake may be tinted a bit more golden.
- Sprinkles. Your sprinkle choice matters! Nonpareils can bleed into your batter and ruin that pristine white color. Stick with jimmies or quins–they add color without any bleeding.
SAM’S TIP: If you want to use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, you must substitute properly. If you are using weights, the weight is the same; if you are using cups, you will need 4 ½ cups of cake flour.
Frosting
This is a big three-layer cake, so you will need quite a bit of frosting to cover and decorate it. Just giving you a fair warning before anyone is alarmed by the amount of butter you’re about to see 😉.
- Butter. Yes, we are using a full pound (or four sticks) of butter here. Remember, this is a big Funfetti cake! I use unsalted butter and add salt separately, but if you use salted butter you likely won’t need to add any salt (taste-test the frosting and add a inch if needed — salt helps cut the sweetness and deepen the flavor).
- Powdered sugar. I highly recommend measuring your ingredients with a kitchen scale for the most accurate results (I link to the one I use in the recipe card, it’s inexpensive). It can be very easy to over-measure powdered sugar, much like measuring flour!
- Heavy cream. We’ll whip this into the frosting for a light and fluffy texture. Whipping cream or double cream would also work.
- Flavoring. For the frosting, I sometimes like to use Princess emulsion instead of vanilla (I also use this in my frosted animal cookies–another fun recipe). It accents the buttercream with notes of citrus and almond and keeps it from being overbearingly sweet. If you don’t have any or can’t find it, regular vanilla extract works perfectly.
SAM’S TIP: For that popular Milk Bar birthday cake look, frost your funfetti cake scantly on the outside and top with my confetti crumbs!
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Funfetti Cake
Make the batter
When making the batter, you’ll want to start with an electric mixer or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) to combine all of your ingredients thoroughly and properly. Creaming the butter in the beginning is actually important for the best texture.
You want to make sure everything is well-combined, but also be careful not to over-mix (this comes into play when adding the milk and then again adding the egg-whites). Over-mixing the batter can cause dense, dry, or sunken results.
Whip the egg whites
Before you begin, make sure your bowl and beaters are completely clean, dry, and grease-free. Even a tiny bit of grease can prevent your egg whites from whipping properly!
Stiff peaks are our aim here! This means your egg whites will have greatly increased in volume, they’ll be bright white in color, and they’ll be fluffy. To test that you’ve reached stiff peaks, lift your beaters straight out of the whites. The peaks should hold firm without folding over or falling back in on themselves.
Fold in the egg whites and sprinkles
Gently is the way to go! Gently stir in all of the egg whites at once along with your sprinkles.
Use a spatula for this step and not your mixer. Your aim is to NOT over-mix. Instead, the goal is to combine everything without deflating those egg whites we just spent all that time whipping. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well combined.
You will lose some of the volume as you fold the batter, but try your hardest to incorporate the egg whites gently without totally deflating them.
Bake
Use the toothpick to test your cakes for doneness; a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean or have a few crumbs when inserted in the center of each cake.
It’s important to keep a close eye on your Funfetti cakes as they near the end of the bake time; underbaking your cake can cause it to sink, while over-baking can dry it out (even just a minute or two too long can do this).
The outsides of the cake bake into a pretty golden color, but don’t panic! The insides will still be snow white.
Decorate
Let the cake layers cool completely before you decorate the cakes. I recommend using my buttercream frosting (in the recipe card below) as it’s a classic Funfetti cake pairing, but I have a whole catalog of frosting recipes that would work well here. Just note that most of those recipes are for 2 layer cakes so you will have to scale up by at least 50%.
I also recommend doing a crumb coating on the cake before decorating. This mean applying a thin layer to the outside of the cake then freezing it for 15 minutes before continuing to decorate. This will catch any crumbs and help your frosting apply more smoothly.
SAM’S TIP: New to cake decorating? I have a guide on how to decorate a cake that’s perfect for for beginner cake decorators! You’ll learn everything from what equipment you need to how to do crumb coat.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe makes about 12 cups of batter.
For a two layer Funfetti cake: I recommend you make my white cake recipe and add ⅓ cup of sprinkles. That recipe is actually the same as this one, but scaled down to fit two pans (and doesn’t have sprinkles, obviously!).
For a 9×13″ pan: you would technically need to reduce the recipe by ⅓. This can get tricky, so I usually recommend making the recipe as-is and using the excess batter for cupcakes (though they won’t have nice rounded tops–see below).
If you are looking for a good Funfetti cupcake recipe, I recommend making my confetti cupcakes or white cupcakes (add sprinkles) instead, as those form nice round tops. This recipe makes tasty cupcakes, but they bake up flat.
I do not recommend it, as they provide inconsistent results (and most say they are not meant for whipping). Instead, separate your own eggs and repurpose the yolks in another recipe like my pastry cream, crème brûlée, lemon crumb bars, lemon curd, key lime pie, or chocolate pie.
Yes! To do this, stir the food coloring into the batter before adding the egg whites. Gel food coloring is best for most vibrant color.
A big thank you to every one of you who has already tried my Funfetti cake recipe and reviewed it 💕 I appreciate you!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Funfetti Cake from Scratch
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons (127 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (236 ml) neutral cooking oil Use canola, vegetable, or avocado oil
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups+ 2 Tbsp (516 g) all-purpose flour (all of the flour goes into the cake batter, you will also need additional flour for preparing the cake pan)
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 ½ cup (355 ml) milk
- 9 (315 ml) large egg whites room temperature preferred
- ½ cup (80 g) sprinkles see note
Buttercream
- 1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp (89 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (recommended)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare 3 8-inch round cake pans by generously greasing and flouring (be sure to shake out excess flour) and lining the bottoms of each pan with a round of parchment paper.
- In stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer), beat butter on medium-low speed until creamy.9 Tablespoons (127 g) unsalted butter
- Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (236 ml) neutral cooking oil
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla extract.4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.4 cups+ 2 Tbsp (516 g) all-purpose flour, 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- Measure out your milk. With mixer on medium speed, gradually alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until each one is almost completely combined before adding the next. Pause occasionally to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.1 ½ cup (355 ml) milk
- In separate mixing bowl (use a clean, dry, and grease-free bowl, use glass or metal), combine your egg whites and stir with an electric mixer, gradually increasing speed from low to high and continuing to beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.9 (315 ml) large egg whites
- Add egg whites and sprinkles to the batter. Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites and sprinkles into your batter. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that ingredients are well-combined, and take care not to over-mix.½ cup (80 g) sprinkles
- Evenly divide cake batter into prepared pans.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake layer comes out clean or with few crumbs (should not be wet). For best results, rotate your cake pans halfway through baking to ensure even baking. Cakes will be a light golden brown when done baking.
- Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the inside rim of each pan and carefully invert each onto a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use the paddle attachment or an electric mixer to beat butter on medium-speed until smooth and creamy.1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter
- Add salt and beat again for about 20 seconds.¼ teaspoon salt
- Gradually, about 1 cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding the next cup.6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar
- One Tablespoon at a time, add the heavy cream on medium-high speed, waiting until each addition is well-combined before adding the next 2 Tbsp.6 Tbsp (89 ml) heavy cream
- Add flavoring (vanilla extract or emulsion). and stir on medium-high for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all ingredients are well-combined.2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
- Transfer one layer of your cooled cake to serving platter. Use frosting to ice the top. Add the next layer, ice the top of that. Add your third layer on top and ice the top, and then do a thin “crumb coating” around the entire cake.
- Transfer to freezer for 10-15 minutes, then remove and apply a clean, thick coat of frosting around the entire cake. For more detailed decorating instructions, see my post on how to decorate a cake.
Notes
Sprinkles
Use sprinkles/jimmies or round sequin “quin” sprinkles, do NOT use nonpareils or they may bleed through your batter and ruin the coloring of your cake.Using 9″ pans
This cake may also be made in three 9″ pans, just decrease the baking time. Start checking the cakes for doneness at 25 minutes.Storing
Store this cake tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This cake may also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap then foil, for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Recipe originally published 4/13/16 — text and photos updated Feb 2025
Penny Greene
I will never make any other white cake because this one is perfection!! Beats any bakery cake I have ever bought. Thank you!
Amy
What is the big difference between your best white cake vs funfetti cake? I mean couldn’t you just add sprinkles to the Best White Cake?
I have been making that one for years. My girls bday is tomorrow and I was originally just going to make that and add the sprinkles but now I am wondering if I should make this instead?
Everything I have ever made from your website is delicious and has been a hit at our gatherings!
Sam
Hi Amy! The funfetti cake is 50% larger and has sprinkles. 🙂
Katina Koehler
Could I make this a two layer cake instead? If so, what would I change? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Katina! Follow my instructions/recipe for my white cake instead and add 1/3 cup of sprinkles. The recipes are the same, only that one is scaled down to fit 2 pans (and doesn’t have sprinkles). Enjoy!
Coleen
Hi Sam
Love love your site and your recipes. I made the funfetti cake today and it tasted great. One thing I’m having issues with it the cake sinking in the middle. I have an oven thermometer so my temperature is right. I do not open the door to check if it’s done until the minimum time which in this recipe was 30 minutes. I do mix in a stand mixer but I used a spatula to fold the eggs in and sprinkles. Is it possible to over mix the butter and sugar? Should I try mixing all ingredients by hand or with a hand mixer? Again thanks for all your amazing g recipes. ❤️
Sam
Hi Coleen! A couple of things to look out for here: Were the egg whites full whipped to stiff peaks? They provide most of the structure here. You want to make sure to fold the egg whites in gently by hand to avoid deflating them. Did you use the toothpick test to make sure the cakes were completely cooked? Another thing that could cause this cake to sink is cooling it too quickly or not handling it gently when removing from the oven. I hope this helps! 🙂
Coleen Steele
Thank you Sam for replying. I did watch your great video before going the recipe. I did beat the egg white to stiff peaks I finding them into the batter until they were dissolved. I did use the toothpick method as well. I am wondering if I may have overfilled my pans? Would that happen? I filled the batter a little more than half way in the pans? I turned off the oven opened the door half way and let the cakes sit in there for about 5 minutes.
Sam
What exactly do you mean by dissolved? They should be incorporated but not completely gone. The over-mixing there could be the problem.
Coleen Steele
Dissolved as far I didn’t see any of the eggs whites on the top of the batter it was incorporated in the batter do I could see specks of the egg whites. Should I only be golfing it in for a few min? I folded it about 5 minutes. I’ll try to fold it in within 2-3 minutes 😍
Sam
5 minutes is probably a bit much. You don’t really need to time how long you fold them in you just need to incorporate them. I think they were definitely deflated last time which caused your sinking. I hope it goes better with less folding next time! 🙂
Alyssa
Absolutely love the cake itself but the frosting is so freaking sweet I felt like I was having sour candy. But I’m sure my son will absolutely love it!
LA
Do you know the ratio to make this in a 9×13 pan?
Sam
You would likely have to reduce the recipe by about 30%. It may be easier to just bake the excess into cupcakes. 🙂
Tiffany
Hi,
Is it fine to use vegetable oil instead of avocado oil like you used in the video?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Of course! Enjoy 😊
Whittnie
Hi!
Could I use cake flour for this recipe?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Whittnie! Cake flour will work fine as long as you substitute properly. If you are using weights you can use the same weight when substituting one for the other. If you are using cups, you will need to use 1c + 2 Tbsp of cake flour for ever 1c of all purpose flour that the recipe calls for. Hope that helps!
Carmem
Am I able to make this cake ahead. say 3days ahead? if so do I refrigerated?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Since the fridge tends to dry out cakes, we’d recommend preparing the cake layers, letting them cool, wrapping in plastic wrap, and letting them sit at room temperature until you’re ready to assemble. You can prepare the frosting in advance too and store that in an airtight container in the fridge. Hope that helps 😊
Sarah
Should I double or triple the recipe for a half sheet cake with two layers?
Sam
Hi Sarah! This recipe will make about 12 cups of batter and I think you would need a little more than 40 cups of batter for a 2 layer 13 x 18 cake. I would probably recommend quadrupling it. Good luck! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Courtney
This was seriously THE BEST CAKE EVER! I have tried soooo many white cake recipes and have never found one that I love. This was an absolute hit with my family and friends.It is now my go to cake recipe.
Samantha
Hi, I am thinking of using this recipe but instead of a layered cake doing cupcakes. is the cooking time roughly the same?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Samantha! We actually recommend making our white cupcakes and stirring some sprinkles into the batter instead. This recipe tends to cave in on itself when made as cupcakes.
Vanessa
(Edited comment)
Hi Sam! I absolutely love making your recipes. I have made several and they are always a hit! I’ve made this one twice already as a cake. I need to make cake and cupcakes this time round and notice that you stated to use the left over batter for cupcakes. I have a question though…I looked at your confetti cupcake recipe and you stated it’s a modified version (definitely smaller lol), but I noticed a slight difference though. In the cupcakes you use buttermilk, but in this cake recipe you use milk. I was just wondering why and what the difference is? I will be making (3) 6″ round and the rest will go to cupcakes. Or do you think I should just cut the cake recipe in half and then make the cupcake recipe separate? Thanks for your help and all your recipes!!!!
Sam
Hi Vanessa! I liked the slightly lighter texture using the milk for the cupcakes, but other than that the taste is very comparable. If it were me, I would just make the cake recipe and use the excess for cupcakes. 🙂
Kat
So, so yum! Be sure to read the directions carefully, I almost put the eggs directly in the wet ingredient mix but was able to whip the whites before and follow through with the rest of the instructions! So yum! My son loved it for his birthday and so did everyone else 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad it was a hit, Kat! Happy Birthday to your son 🥳
Jessica
Have you concidered including some high elevation adjustments? I think it kinda messed me up since my cakes took alot longer. I measured all ingredients to the T with my scale and still struggled a bit. otherwise super good.
Sam
Hi Jessica! Unfortunately I do not have experience with high altitude baking so I would struggle to provide accurate adjustments. 🙁
Maria B Rugolo
This recipe yielded 3 fluffy, moist, and delicious layers. a keeper for sure!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Maria! Thanks for giving our recipe a try 🩷
Erika
can you make this recipe with the whole egg to get a little firmer cake? and if so how many whole eggs?
Sam
Hi Erika! Unfortunately that will not work with this cake.
Ashley
If I’m looking to make a three layer six inch smash cake with this recipe would you think I cut the ingredients in half?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashley! That should work fine 😊
Erica
Girl. This recipe is sooooo good. Thank you for this recipe. I would definitely love to have some baking times for different sized pans and cupcakes. I did make cupcakes and a few little 4” cakes for a smash cake, but I don’t think I baked it for long enough since it sank a bit in the middle of them when they cooled. This is definitely the best vanilla cake I’ve had, and I’m not a huge fan of vanilla cake. My husband is though, and he said it’s the best he’s had too!
Zach
When doing the 4 inch pan sizes, did you half the recipe? or have excess batter?